Honda HR-V owners filed 1,821 complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for model years 2015–2025 (see the Car Problem Index for all 60 models), and NHTSA lists 13 recall campaigns for the same years. The 2023 Honda HR-V drew the most complaints (686); across all years, owners complain most about wipers / visibility (19% of complaints).
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2023, with 686 complaints, led by wipers / visibility (319) and 3 recalls.
- Complaints vs recalls: Wipers / visibility drew 352 complaints but no recalls, so for most of these owners the repair falls to warranty or their own pocket, not a free recall fix.
- Spike years, compared with a typical model year: 2016 (2.0 times as many complaints), 2019 (1.9 times as many complaints), 2023 (5.6 times as many complaints).
- Earliest-failing area: wipers / visibility complaints came at a median 6k mi.
- Fire and crash reports: 6 complaints mention a fire and 95 a crash, with 56 injuries reported.
Honda HR-V complaints and recalls by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 2 recalls | 239 | Transmission / powertrain (74), Electrical system (56), Brakes (23) median 53k mi · 13 crashes · 1 fire |
| 2017 no recall | 122 | Transmission / powertrain (32), Electrical system (28), Body structure (15) median 20k mi · 13 crashes |
| 2018 3 recalls | 156 | Electrical system (47), Fuel System, Gasoline (27), Brakes (15) median 24k mi · 11 crashes |
| 2019 7 recalls | 234 | Electrical system (66), Fuel System, Gasoline (35), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (33) median 25k mi · 18 crashes · 1 fire |
| 2020 5 recalls | 83 | Electrical system (20), Fuel System, Gasoline (14), Transmission / powertrain (13) median 37k mi · 8 crashes · 2 fires |
| 2021 4 recalls | 63 | Air bags (21), Electrical system (15), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (7) median 36k mi · 5 crashes |
| 2022 3 recalls | 87 | Electrical system (26), Engine (18), Transmission / powertrain (18) median 14k mi · 10 crashes · 1 fire |
| 2023 3 recalls | 686 | Wipers / visibility (319), Steering (78), Visibility (windows, mirrors, wipers) (78) median 14k mi · 7 crashes |
| 2024 4 recalls | 108 | Steering (51), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (12), Brakes (12) median 13k mi · 8 crashes · 1 fire |
| 2025 1 recall | 43 | Steering (13), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (7), Electrical system (5) median 4k mi · 2 crashes |
One recall campaign often covers several model years, so the recall column adds up to 32, more than the 13 separate campaigns. Newer years have had less time to collect reports.
Most-reported Honda HR-V problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Recalls | Median mileage | Estimate the repair |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wipers / visibility | 352 | 19% | 0 | 6k mi | Wiper replacement cost |
| Electrical system | 305 | 17% | 0 | 30k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Transmission / powertrain | 176 | 10% | 0 | 82k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Steering | 173 | 10% | 1 | 9k mi | Power steering repair cost |
| Brakes | 112 | 6% | 1 | 10k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Engine | 107 | 6% | 0 | 28k mi | Engine overhaul cost |
| Body structure | 101 | 6% | 0 | 23k mi | — |
| Visibility (windows, mirrors, wipers) | 87 | 5% | 0 | 13k mi | — |
Top problem areas only; one complaint can count twice.
What Honda HR-V owners report
Owners’ own words; dollar figures are what they reported.
Wipers / visibility
Windshield wipers suddenly just stopped working without warning while I was driving my 2022 Honda HR-V (36,603 miles) during a rainfall. Thankfully I was not on the interstate and I was able to pull over into a parking lot. I took my car to the napleton Honda morton grove illinois where they inspected my vehicle. They said I need to replace the windshield wiper motor and linkage ($1100!).
2022 model-year owner, NHTSA complaint 11583511
Rear hatch window exploded on jan 12th, 2024. Honda claims its related to the rear defroster in use or improper installation where the adhesive used comes in contact with the heating elements causing a hot spot in the glass thus exploding. The window was replaced on april 12th, 2024. The issue I have is Honda is not guaranteeing the replacement and just stating the warranty of 3 years / 36,000 miles.
2023 model-year owner, NHTSA complaint 11582855
None of these 352 wipers / visibility complaints is matched by a recall on these model years, so a repair is covered only by warranty or paid by the owner.
352 owners reported wipers / visibility problems; the wiper replacement cost calculator shows what the fix costs where you live.
Electrical system
The vehicle dash cluster flickers and goes completely out. When this happens you can not see the mileage or how much fuel you have. This is a known problem and even my local dealer has seen a few and Honda will not stand behind the problem.
2019 model-year owner, NHTSA complaint 11760221
2016 Honda HR-V - intermittent problem with the car not starting (push button start); key icon remains illuminated. We took it to a dealer who said it must be the battery in the key fob (replaced repeatedly with problem recurring) until finally at 49,000 miles they said it was showing code B12C5 start/stop switch has failed. Diagnosis $144 and replacement $302 total $446.
2016 model-year owner, NHTSA complaint 11258734
None of these 305 electrical system complaints is matched by a recall on these model years, so a repair is covered only by warranty or paid by the owner.
305 owners reported electrical system problems; the alternator / electrical repair cost calculator shows what the fix costs where you live.
Transmission / powertrain
CVT transmission failed and vehicle lost power while on interstate I-88 65 MPH speed zone. F momentum allowed me to reach an exit at which point I needed to push the vehicle by myself off the roadway. Vehicle mileage was slighlty over 60,000 miles and the $10,000 dollar repair was not covered by warranty. Dangerous and costly to consumers! Same CVT was recalled or warranty extended in earlier models.
2021 model-year owner, NHTSA complaint 11740048
Early continuous variable transmission belt failure at 92,000 miles on a 2017 Honda HR-V. The extended warranty for this failure only extends to 7 years after purchase or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first. The vehicle has been inspected by a Honda dealership and they have indicated that the car is not drivable and the transmission needs to be replaced for $8,500. There were no warning signs or lights.
2017 model-year owner, NHTSA complaint 11629966
None of these 176 transmission / powertrain complaints is matched by a recall on these model years, so a repair is covered only by warranty or paid by the owner.
176 owners reported transmission / powertrain problems; the transmission repair cost calculator shows what the fix costs where you live.
Honda HR-V recalls
Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls for your car’s open recalls.
| Campaign | Announced | Model years | System | Risk (NHTSA's wording) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26V332000 | 2026-05-21 | 2019–2021 | Air bags | Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury. |
| 26V054000 | 2026-01-29 | 2024 | Seats | A loose driver's seat may not adequately restrain the driver during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. |
| 24V859000 | 2024-11-14 | 2024 | Seats | An unsecured driver's seat may not adequately restrain the driver during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. |
| 24V744000 | 2024-10-03 | 2023–2025 | Steering | Difficulty steering can increase the risk of a crash. |
| 24V384000 | 2024-05-31 | 2019–2022 | Backup camera / rear sensors | An inoperative rearview camera display can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 24V064000 | 2024-02-01 | 2020–2022 | Air bags | An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury. |
| 23V858000 | 2023-12-18 | 2018–2020, 2023 | Fuel System, Gasoline | Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 23V782000 | 2023-11-21 | 2023–2024 | Seat belts | A seat belt pretensioner missing a rivet will not properly restrain the occupant, increasing the risk of injury during a crash. |
| 23V046000 | 2023-02-02 | 2019–2022 | Backup camera / rear sensors | An inoperative rearview camera display can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 21V215000 | 2021-03-25 | 2019 | Fuel System, Gasoline | Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 20V314000 | 2020-05-28 | 2018–2019 | Fuel System, Gasoline | If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 18V777000 | 2018-11-01 | 2016, 2018–2019 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | A reduction of braking performance increases the risk of a crash. |
| 15V472000 | 2015-07-28 | 2016 | Equipment / accessories | If the tire placard is missing the driver or owner may not know at what pressure to inflate the tires, resulting in over or under tire inflation which potentially increases the risk of a tire failure and crash. |
What this data can and can't tell you
1,821 unverified owner reports, not adjusted for sales. Method.
Other Honda models in the index
- Honda CR-V (8,154)
- Honda Pilot (5,597)
- Honda Accord (5,446)
- Honda Civic (4,916)
- Honda Odyssey (3,774)
Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-09-25; NHTSA recalls database (nhtsa.gov/recalls), retrieved 2026-09-23. Model years 2015–2025. Free to cite with a link to this page.